Terry Gilliam still wants to return to his long-suffering dream project “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” but he appears to have accepted that the show will have to go on without former leading man Johnny Depp. The man who almost directed “Watchmen” will finally release his delayed film “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (starring Heath Ledger) in October and plans to then turn his attention back to “Quixote,” even if that means abandoning his other film “The Zero Theorem.”
“I’m about to sit down this evening with Tony Grisoni and see if all the bits we’ve been doing in this last couple of weeks are enough to keep us happy and say that’s it,” Gilliam told his online fanzine Dreams. “Basically, we are pretty much there on the script and then Jeremy Thomas and I have been moving ahead on different deals.”
The “Brazil” director acknowledged that shooting would begin on “Quixote” in 2010, as soon a cast can be assembled. Gilliam also explained that he had “pulled the plug” on his sci-fi flick “The Zero Theorem,” which he didn’t believe would be viable. And though he still hopes Depp will become available for the title role in “Quixote,” Gilliam admitted that he would like have to move long without the “Public Enemies” star.
“Neither Jeremy nor myself feel we can wait until Johnny’s available,” he said. “Nevertheless, he gets first choice, and we’ll see if anything changes on his dance card.”
Depp was originally on board before a funding fiasco with Gilliam’s insurance company derailed the film. Now, with an overflowing slate of new projects, including “Pirates of the Caribbean 4″ and “Dark Shadows,” even his strong ties to Gilliam probably won’t be enough to part the shooting dates on his calendar and bring him back in time. Anything is possible until the cameras start rolling though, and no one knows that better than Gilliam.
Are you disappointed that Johnny Depp probably won’t appear in “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote? Are you glad that Terry Gilliam has the film back on track? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
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